Consultants

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which consultancies have been given contracts with his Department since May 2010; and what the (a) cost, (b) purpose and (c) scope of work conducted under each such contract was. [Official Report, 17 July 2013, Vol. 566, c. 7MC.]

Mark Francois: holding answer 10 December 2012
	A list of consultancies that have been awarded Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts since May 2010 is provided as follows. The table includes contract value and a broad description of the requirement. Contracts awarded by MOD agencies and trading funds are included, but the list excludes contracts awarded under the Framework Agreement for Technical Support and those classified by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation as Principal Service Providers; these contracts are defined separately from consultancy services.
	Total MOD expenditure on consultancy for the last five financial years is listed as follows. These figures include spend by MOD trading funds. The table shows that between 2007-08 and 2011-12 expenditure on consultancy fell by 84%.
	
		
			 Total MOD expenditure on consultancy 
			  £ million 
			 2007-08 120 
			 2008-09 106 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 79 
			 2010-11 26 
			 2011-12 19 
		
	
	MOD consultancy contracts awarded since May 2010
	The contract value represents the limit of liability against which expenditure may be incurred and actual expenditure against individual contracts may be lower.
	
		
			 Start date Consultancy name Description of requirement Contract value (£) 
			 1 May 2010 Harness IT Consulting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Project—Implementation and Development—Project Team Costs 216,843 
			 20 May 2010 Criterion Leadership Forum design 16,800 
			 21 May 2010 Cap Gemini plc Barcoding Project—Transition and Project Management Consultancy 43,236 
			 21 May 2010 Cap Gemini plc Barcoding Project—third party services and software 41,150 
			 21 May 2010 Pinsent Mason Legal services for Project Delphi 60,000 
			 27 May 2010 KPMG Operational Efficiency Programme/Asset Management Review 101,592 
			 7 June 2010 Criterion Amendments to questionnaire 18,500 
			 7 June 2010 Criterion Update the Managing Performance V3 course 5,600 
			 29 June 2010 Dr Mukulika Banerjee Provision of subject matter expert advice to the Chief of the Defence Staff Strategic Advisory Forum 2,000 
			 12 July 2010 Libra Advisory Group External Assistance (EA) for Afghan Counter Insurgency Centre 18,250 
			 23 July 2010 Criterion Creation of Abstract Reasoning Test 17,000 
			 2 August 2010 Cap Gemini plc ERP Project—Implementation and Development—Technical Services 15,000 
			 1 August 2010 Worldwide Technology UK Ltd ERP Project— Implementation and Development—Project Team Costs—Cutover Management 120,006 
			 1 August 2010 Ipsos Mori Fleet Auxiliary Flotilla Survey 17,990 
			 10 August 2010 Inventures EA on Defence Training Rationalisation Fall Back Plan 15,000 
			 10 August 2010 Concerto Consulting Ltd EA on Defence Training Rationalisation Fall Back Plan 11,000 
			 16 August 2010 Pinsent Mason Career Levelling—Legally Privileged 1,675 
			 16 August 2010 Zenst Provide coaching to support nominated senior managers 999 
			 24 August 2010 QinetiQ Support to Develop IA Training Courses 17,663 
			 8 September 2010 Criterion One Day Consultant design 2,800 
			 27 September 2010 KPMG Cost Assurance and Analysis Development Programme 12,000,000 
			 5 October 2010 SCS Ltd Field Army Stock Efficiency 31,500 
			 6 October 2010 InterCultures Ltd The provision of cultural advice and guidance to Commander Task Force Helmand and his staff covering political, economic, social and development environments, as well as civil-military issues 49,770 
			 11 October 2010 CPCR To tweak and update current Line Managers course 3,220 
			 12 October 2010 Atkins Ltd EA for Defence Acquisition Reform Programme (DARP) Partnering for skills Project Management Scoping Study 218,144 
			 20 October 2010 TMP Review of AIB 25,450 
			 31 October 2010 Cranfield University NATO Capability Culture Scoping Study 49,000 
			 1 November 2010 Deloitte External Assistance to the Re-Negotiation Process 120,000 
			 5 November 2010 SCS Ltd SO2 mission specific training resource management 100,000 
			 23 November 2010 C.O.I BFBS Media Broadcast Tech Support 40,000 
			 20 December 2010 CPCR Development of a one day Bringing the Business Plan To Life event 1,610 
			 7 January 2011 Quatrosystem Ltd Carry out a soft issues assessment of the six bidders competing for new ISP contracts 103,177 
			 10 January 2011 KPMG EA for Puma Mk2 Simulator and Synthetic Training Upgrade 64,578 
			 14 January 2011 Transcend To undertake work for the new operating model for DIO 48,500 
			 4 February 2011 Criterion Design of first Learning Community session. 2,800 
			 4 February 2011 Criterion Design of one day event for Line Managers of Technical Consultants 7,000 
			 15 February 2011 Criterion Graduate Development line manager training design. 1,400 
		
	
	
		
			 16 February 2011 Mayo Learning Training design 3,500 
			 28 February 2011 In Partnership Coaching and Organisation change projects 4,344 
			 2 March 2011 Catalyze Ltd Request for Technical Support to Assist in Down Selection of Site Options 15,000 
			 10 March 2011 Bray Leino Graduate Development Programme—Team build design 638.00 
			 15 March 2011 Criterion Design of a two day training event for technical consultants 9,000 
			 15 March 2011 Criterion Research and development of simulation 9,000 
			 21 March 2011 Freight Transport Association External Support for Driver Certificate of Professional Competences 7,051 
			 25 March 2011 KPMG Admiralty Holdings Limited strategic review 110,762 
			 1 April 2011 Deloitte External Assistance for Defence Infrastructure Transformation Programme 441,000 
			 19 April 2011 In Partnership Coaching and Organisation change projects 12,150 
			 20 April 2011 Criterion Additional development costs for the extension of the Building Technical Consulting Excellence event 4,200 
			 29 April 2011 Serco Ltd Continued Provision of Technical Support to Defence Crisis Management Centre 177,760 
			 9 May 2011 Deloitte Assist in the design and delivery of Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) Transformation Programme 5,000.000 
			 26 July 2011 Ernst and Young Future Defence Storage and Distribution Project (FDSDP) EA Support 222,000 
			 14 November 2011 QiResults Provision of a Phase 2 Efficiency in Support Leader to Support the Materiel Strategy—Business Case/Investment Appraisal 72,000 
			 29 November 2011 Deloitte MCS Ltd Sale of Marsh wood 99,900 
			 29 November 2011 Ernst and Young EA for the Commercial Development of RAF Northolt 94,000 
			 1 January 2012 PricewaterhouseCoopers SDSR Renegotiation of PFI Projects 169,465 
			 4 January 2012 Deloitte MCS Ltd EA to the Army 2020 study 106,000 
			 16 January 2012 Ernst and Young External Assistance Support To The FDSDP Tender Exercise 470,000 
			 17 February 2012 Deloitte LLP The provision of a Benchmarking exercise for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary against the Royal Navy and commercial operators 850,000 
			 1 April 2012 Ernst and Young Study into retaining part of Defence Support Group (DSG) within the MOD on sale of DSG 39,000 
			 12 June 2012 Detica Ltd Delivery of Cross Government ICT Strategy Outputs 149,430 
			 13 June 2012 Deloitte LLP The provision of consultancy support services to deliver improved leadership behaviours 1,529,912 
			 1 July 2012 Prof J F Alder Provision of specialist support and advice on chemical and explosives activities 5,000 
			 6 July 2012 Catalyze Ltd External Assistance to the Change Programme Team at RAF Lyneham 10,000 
			 9 July 2012 Deloitte MCS Ltd EA to support Army 2020 Study 70,000 
			 13 July 2012 LEK Business Strategy Partner for Materiel Strategy 1,950,625 
			 18 July 2012 Change Partners Provision of services to support Corporate Intervention 2 20,000 
			 31 July 2012 Atos Ltd External Assistance for Logistic Commodities Category Management Assessment 16,500 
			 10 August 2012 Maxxim Consulting LLP Corporate Strategy Review and Development 51,325 
			 14 August 2012 Deloitte MCS Ltd Consultancy for the provision of technical advice and support to progress management and liabilities and rationalisation in the warship build sector 599,836 
			 10 October 2012 Bell Pottinger Public Affairs Ltd The provision of consultancy support services to the MOD DIO transformation Project to support the Change Leadership and Communication requirements of the transformation programme 995,000 
			 10 October 2012 PWC The provision of consultancy support services to the MOD DIO transformation Project to support the Portfolio Integration and Management requirements of the transformation programme 942,560 
			 10 October 2012 Deloitte The provision of consultancy support services to the MOD DIO transformation Project to support the Enhanced Operating Model and Technology Solution Implementation requirements of the transformation programme and the Strategic Business Partner Procurement 5,922,928 
		
	
	
		
			 15 October 2012 Deloitte The provision of consultancy support services to the MOD DIO transformation Project to support the Footprint Strategy of the transformation programme 253,341 
			 18 October 2012 Deloitte EA for the Defence Fire and Rescue Project 426,474 
			 19 November 2012 KPMG The provision of consultancy support services to the MOD Material Strategy Project to support the construction of business cases, investment appraisals and benefits realisations for the transformation programme 1,145,250

West Coast Railway Line: Franchises

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of spare capacity within Directly Operated Railways to take over the Great Western franchise.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Transport confirmed, on 31 January, that the current First Great Western (FGW) franchise had been extended by seven periods to October 2013, and that we would be negotiating with FGW for a further two year extension. It was also confirmed that we would be instructing Directly Operated Railways (DOR) to undertake the preparatory measures necessary to commence operation in the unlikely event that we are unable to conclude these negotiations successfully with FGW. This will include an assessment of any resource required, but the Government has full confidence in DOR's ability to step in should the need arise.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many breaches of stand-alone anti-social behaviour orders have resulted in custodial sentences in each of the last five years; what sentences were awarded to individuals who breached stand-alone anti-social behaviour orders in each such year; and how many stand-alone anti-social behaviour orders have been breached in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency and (b) the North West in each such year.

Jeremy Browne: The total number of occasions on which offenders received a custodial sentence for breaching their stand-alone antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) at ail courts in England and Wales, by sentence length, in each year between 2007 and 2011 (latest currently available), is shown in Table 1.
	The number of stand-alone antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) proven in court to have been breached for the first time in the north-west region, in each year between 2007 and 2011 (latest currently available) is shown in Table 2.
	Centrally collected data on breaches of ASBOs are not available at parliamentary constituency area level.
	
		
			 Table 1: Occasions on which an offender received a custodial sentence(1) for breaching their stand-alone(2) antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) at all courts, by sentence length, in England and Wales, 2007 to 2011 
			 Length of sentence 2007 2008(3) 2009 2010 2011 
			 Up to and including 1 month 202 216 236 242 210 
			 Over 1 month and up to 2 months 174 155 166 162 166 
			 Over 2 months and up to 3 months 134 166 131 104 133 
			 Over 3 months and up to 4 months 34 238 238 207 167 
			 Over 4 months and up to 5 months 44 31 25 38 33 
			 Over 5 months and up to 6 months 127 147 119 69 42 
			 Over 6 months and up to 8 months 41 31 33 26 20 
			 Over 8 months and up to 10 months 39 22 10 26 13 
			 Over 10 months and up to 12 months 53 30 37 29 12 
			 Over 1 year and up to 2 years 21 23 18 21 7 
			 Over 2 years — 2 6 1 1 
			 Total 1,169 1,061 1,019 925 804 
		
	
	
		
			 ‘—’ = Nil (1 )Custodial sentences for breaching an ASBO may have been given concurrently with custodial sentences for other offences of which the offender was found guilty. (2) Includes all breach occasions arising from breaches 'stand-alone' ASBOs where a sentence of immediate custody was received. This type of ASBO is issued on application by magistrates courts acting in their civil capacity and county courts and are sometimes referred to as stand-alone ASBOs. Although it is a civil order, breaches are criminal offences attracting a maximum sentence of 5 years (2 years for juveniles). (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July, and August 2008. Note: ASBO breach data are compiled by matching records of ASBOs issued with ASBOs breached. The nature of this matching process means that previously published ASBO breach data are subject to minor revision. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Stand-alone(1) antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) proven in court to have been breached for the first time(2) in the north-west region(3, 4), 2007 to 2011 
			 Offenders 
			 Area 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 North-west region(3, 4) 162 118 116 115 115 
			 (1) Includes breaches of 'stand-alone' ASBOs where the breach was proved in court to have occurred irrespective of the type of sentence of received. This type of ASBO is issued on application by magistrates courts acting in their civil capacity and county courts and are sometimes referred to as stand-alone ASBOs. Although it is a civil order, breaches are criminal offences attracting a maximum sentence of 5 years (2 years for juveniles). (2) ASBOs may be breached more than once and in more than one year. In this table the stand-alone ASBOs are counted once only within the period when they were first breached. (3) Comprising the Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside police force areas as defined by the Office for National Statistics. (4) ASBOs may be issued in one area and breached in another. Breaches are counted in this table by area of breach. Note: ASBO breach data are compiled by matching records of ASBOs issued with ASBOs breached. The nature of this matching process means that previously published ASBO breach data are subject to minor revision. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Daniel Morgan

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will request a judicial inquiry into the death of Daniel Morgan and the subsequent police investigation.

Damian Green: holding answer 4 February 2013
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), is seriously considering all of the options available to me to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

Entry Clearances: China

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to make it easier for tourists and investors from China to obtain visas for entry to the UK.

Mark Harper: holding answer 5 February 2013
	The Government supports economic growth by delivering an effective visa service which processed over 280,000 applications for visas in 2011 for China.
	China is one of the UK's priority markets and our visa service is working well—97% of visas are processed within 15 day, and last year till September 2012 the number of visas issued to Chinese nationals was up by 7%.
	In December 2012 the UK Border Agency announced a package of further enhancements to the UK visa service for Chinese tourists and business. These changes which will be implemented over the next six months include:
	The introduction of shortened online application forms and streamlined requirements for Approved Destination Scheme customers (ADS).
	The establishment of a business network with dedicated embassy staff to assist businesses and investors with their UK visa requirements.
	A service for business travellers and ADS tourists which allows customers to keep their passport while their visa is being processed. This means that they can travel or apply for another visa if they need to thus reducing the time it takes to obtain two visas.
	A mobile biometric service which will be available for applicants who wish to have their biometric information taken at a location more convenient to them, rather than visiting a visa application centre.
	Priority visa eligibility which has been expanded to include Tier 4 students and those who have previously travelled within Schengen.
	Improved application processes which are improvements to the online application process including the introduction of translated application forms.
	An enhanced select business scheme which removes the onerous reporting requirements that made it cumbersome and bureaucratic for many companies.

Illegal Immigrants: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many business establishments in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire have been fined for employing illegal foreign national workers in each year since 2008.

Mark Harper: The information requested is in the following table: The figures are based on the number of civil penalties served at visited business addresses. Information is not available broken down by county as the data is recorded by regional split only and therefore figures for the North West region combine Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Cheshire and Lancashire.
	
		
			 Calendar year Pendle constituency North West region 
			 2008 0 123 
			 2009 1 244 
			 2010 2 232 
			 2011 0 144 
			 2012 0 129 
			 Note: The figures provided are sourced from a UK Border Agency management information system. It is provisional and is subject to change. 
		
	
	The decrease in the number of businesses served with civil penalties from 2010 can be explained as follows: employers' increased awareness of the regime together with improved guidance on the UK Border Agency website, providing clear advice on how to conduct document checks to verify a person's right to work, has led to an increase in employer compliance. The Agency's work in summer 2012 under Operation Mayapple targeted enforcement activity on overstayers, including students whose leave had been curtailed. This activity drives up compliance across the board. Robust debt recovery processes have been implemented with employers becoming increasingly aware that where penalties are not paid debt recovery enforcement action will commence against them.

National Crime Agency: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive on the role of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 5 February 2013
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), Home Office Ministers and officials have had a number of meetings and discussions with David Ford, the Northern Ireland Justice Minister and his officials to support his discussions on the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland and legislative consent. We remain committed to delivering a UK-wide crime fighting agency focused on tackling serious, organised and complex crime.

Tickets

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the merits of recent advice given by Operation Podium on ticket fraud and the secondary ticketing market; and what steps she will undertake as a result of that advice.

Jeremy Browne: The report produced by Operation Podium has made a considerable contribution to the understanding of ticketing crime. Operation Podium worked closely with Action Fraud during the Olympic period to tackle ticketing fraud. The Government is currently considering the success of this work and its potential to further strengthen the work on tackling ticket fraud.

Government Procurement Card

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance or instructions have been issued to staff in (a) his Department and (b) its arm's length bodies about the timing of the publication of data relating to spend over (i) £25,000 and (ii) £500 using the Government Procurement Card.

Brandon Lewis: The Department currently publishes all spend data above a £250 threshold. HM Treasury guidance on the publication of spend data provided to all Government Departments states the following:
	“2.10. Spend is to be published one month in arrears, i.e. by the last working day of the month following the month to which the data relates. If the data is available before the end of the month, it should be published as soon as the department has cleared it for release. This data is to be published in individual monthly files.”
	DCLG's Communications team publishes spend data on
	www.gov.uk
	and as part of the monthly process, DCLG's Finance Shared Services team issues an internal timetable for the checking, approval and publication of data. The publication commitment is published on DCLG's intranet. The Government Procurement Card and core spend data is issued to the same process/timetable.
	In October 2010, DCLG's arm’s length bodies were issued with consolidated spending controls guidance, which required publication of spend of over £500 by 29 October, and thereafter, monthly on the 15th working day in each month. In July 2012, they were instructed to publish Government Procurement Card spend of over £250, with the expectation is that DCLG's arm’s length bodies would reflect this change in their data publications in September 2012, (so relating to August spend data).
	In addition to the routine £250 publication, we have also frequently published full details of all past and present departmental spending on Government Procurement Cards (all transactions, with no spending threshold) to inform Parliament and increase public scrutiny of how taxpayers' money is spent.

Housing and Regeneration Act 2008

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to amend section 303 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.

Mark Prisk: The Government has no current plans to amend section 303 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 ("the 2008 Act").
	Section 303 (and schedule 12) of the 2008 Act would amend measures in sections 152 and 156 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”). These measures, which relate to the provision of service charge information and to designated accounts, have not as yet been brought into effect.
	The Government is aware of concerns in the leasehold sector, and is keeping a watching brief on a range of issues, but is not convinced of the case for further regulation at this stage.
	We are aware that the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales (ICAEW) published in 2011 some "Guidance on Accounting and Reporting in relation to Service Charge Accounts" covering much the same ground as regulations under section 152 of the 2002 Act would cover.

Housing: Construction

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which new taxes on developments his Department introduced through local government in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012; how many councils have introduced such taxes to date; and what level of tax each such council has set for single dwelling developments.

Nicholas Boles: My Department has cut taxes on people's homes. We have:
	Worked with councils to freeze council tax, cutting council tax by an average of 4.4% in real terms over the last two years. A further freeze offer is available to councils this year.
	Repealed the last Government's legislation and plans to impose new bin taxes on family homes.
	Cancelled the last Administration's plans for an intrusive and expensive council tax revaluation, which would have forced up bills on millions of homes and taxed home improvements.
	Stopped the imposition of business rates on family homes with ‘rent a roof’ solar panels (a ‘sun tax’).
	As outlined in my answer of 28 January 2013, Official Report, column 583W, the Community Infrastructure Levy was a measure introduced under the last Administration, although we are taking a series of steps to improve and reform it, including reviewing the potential impact on self-build. There is no requirement on councils to adopt the Levy. So far 10 authorities have chosen to introduce the Levy. The Department is not collecting detailed information on individual authorities’ levy rates.
	We have also been consulting on making it easier to build extensions and small-scale home improvements without paying for unnecessary planning fees. Our Section 106 reforms are also seeking to tackle unrealistic and unreasonable planning gain demands.

Retail Trade

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration he has given to producing a best practice approach for retailers in town centres to help them combat the growth of out-of-town shopping.

Mark Prisk: The Government recognises that a vibrant town centre is vital for communities and economic growth. The Government has established 27 Portas Pilots, and over 330 Town Team Partners across England, to develop and share best practice. This will identify what works best in a wide variety of communities and comes on top of our 'town centre first' planning policy which guides new town centre uses to existing town centres in England. I would strongly encourage the hon. Member to consider a similar pilot programme in Northern Ireland.
	I refer the hon. Member to the 'The Portas Review: an independent review into the future of our high streets' and the Government's Response to the Portas Review, copies are available in the Library of the House.

Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which departmental or cross-departmental policies have been influenced by the measurement of and research into well-being conducted by the Office for National Statistics.

Oliver Letwin: The Office for National Statistics has made significant progress since 2010 on measuring national wellbeing and published the first Life in the UK report in November 2012. The published wellbeing statistics are experimental and are helping to build up the evidential foundations in order to inform future policy.
	Progress is being made: the cross-government Social Impacts Task Force is sharing wellbeing research and practice across Whitehall, and a cross-Whitehall Wellbeing Steering Group has recently been established to consider policy uses. As an example, wellbeing measures have been incorporated into the evaluation of the National Citizen Service.

Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many meetings have been held by Ministers in his Department with the Office for National Statistics to discuss ways to measure well-being.

Oliver Letwin: We have no record of Cabinet Office Ministers meeting formally with ONS on wellbeing measurement. Cabinet Office officials have been fully engaged in the wellbeing measurement programme and meet regularly including participating in various wellbeing governance boards.

Intelligence Services

Julian Huppert: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he has had with the US administration on personal data of UK citizens not being accessed as foreign intelligence information under the terms of (a) section 1881a of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendment Act 2008 (FISA 702) and (b) the US Patriot Act 2001.

Francis Maude: holding answer 4 February 2013
	Information relating to discussions with overseas Government is not normally disclosed.

Circuses: Animal Welfare

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved governments on the establishment of a UK-wide ban on the use of wild animals in circuses; and what effect the development of UK-wide legislation will have on the proposed timetable for implementation of a ban in England.

David Heath: It is our firm intention to publish a draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny this session. The draft Bill will set out a ban on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in England. There are discussions with the devolved Administrations, at both ministerial and official level, on a range of animal welfare issues. There has been no assessment yet as to whether any extension of the territorial scope would have an impact on the timetable for the introduction of any Bill produced following pre-legislative scrutiny.

Floods: Insurance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government regarding flood prevention insurance.

Richard Benyon: Insurance plays an important role in helping people manage the financial consequences of their property being flooded.
	The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), and I meet regularly with our counterparts in the Scottish Government to discuss a range of issues of common importance. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details f such meetings.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when he expects to make an announcement on the outcomes of the Alcohol Fraud consultation and proposed steps;
	(2)  when he expects a new excise duty protection system for beer to be operational.

Sajid Javid: HM Revenue and Customs is currently completing its analysis of the responses to the formal consultation on potential new legislation to tackle alcohol duty fraud. The Government expects to publish a summary of responses and make an announcement on next steps, including the timing of any new legislation, during the spring.

International Monetary Fund

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will hold discussions with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on using a red card sanction against the government of Argentina in respect of the decision not to pay back debt, and its refusal to allow court judgements; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: The Chancellor of the Exchequer and Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, hold regular discussions on a range of topics.

Personal Income: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of single-earner families in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency will experience a net loss in income by 2015-16 as a result of measures announced in the Autumn Statement 2012.

Sajid Javid: There will be no losers in 2015-16 in cash terms as a result of the measures announced at autumn statement. This Government publishes its assessment of the overall distributional impact on households of policy decisions across all fiscal events. This was most recently published at autumn statement 2012.

Revenue and Customs

Jim Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reports he has received that the instructions contained in HM Revenue and Customs' leaflet SA342 entitled, Why not try our online direct debit service, do not work; and what steps he plans to take to remedy that matter.

David Gauke: HMRC is aware of, and regrets, the difficulties which its customers experienced in matching the guidance given in the SA342 leaflet to using the HMRC online direct debit service.
	The SA342 leaflet has now been withdrawn, and HMRC is working to improve the online direct debit customer experience. The first improvements will be changes to the online guidance, and HMRC expects to have these in place during April 2013.

Taxation: Gambling

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to his Budget Statement 2012, when he intends to bring forward legislative proposals to give effect to his announced changes to the taxation regime for remote gambling.

Sajid Javid: Implementation of the Government's reform to remote gambling taxation is planned for 1 December 2014. The Government will legislate for the reform in a future Finance Bill.

Direct Selling

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with industry on persistent silent telephone calls from marketing companies.

Edward Vaizey: No such discussions have been held. Silent calls are not permitted by the Office of Communications (Ofcom). They have strict rules on abandoned calls, where a call centre's automated calling system generates more calls than can be answered by call centre staff, resulting in an abandoned call. Ofcom is engaged in on-going enforcement action in this area and can levy penalties of up to £2 million on those found to be in breach of the rules. In the past year, Ofcom has fined companies a total of £810,000.
	Ofcom is also working with Government and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to tackle the wider issue of nuisance calls and the harm they cause to consumers. Additionally, Ofcom is taking a number of steps to address silent calls, including consumer and market research and work with industry to trace silent calls.

Multinational Companies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the multinational companies with which Ministers in her Department are buddied in the strategic relations initiative announced in July 2011; and how many times each Minister has met her allotted company.

Hugh Robertson: The Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), is the contact Minister for Google, Facebook, Telefonica (O2) and Everything Everywhere (EE).
	The Department publishes details of all ministerial meetings with external organisations, since May 2010, on its transparency website at the following link:
	http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/category/other/meetings/

Construction: Billing

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of specialist contractors in the construction sector who have been engaged in work paid for by public funds; how many such contractors have suffered from (a) late payments and (b) retentions in breach of the Prompt Payment Code; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: We do not collect data on what proportion of work under public sector construction contracts goes to specialist contractors.
	We recognise that late payment to sub-contractors is a particular problem in the construction industry. Cabinet Office is working with other parts of the public sector to pioneer the use of project bank accounts (PBAs), from which payments are made directly and simultaneously by a client to the supply chain. Where PBAs are not used, the requirement for contractors to pay their sub-contractors within 30 days is specified in contract terms. If a sub contractor on a public contract feels they have not been treated fairly they are encouraged to report the issue to the Mystery Shopper Scheme, run by the Cabinet Office, which investigates issues relating to public procurement, including payment within public sector projects.
	In July 2011 the Scheme was extended specifically to include subcontractors' concerns and since then there have been seven cases raised about payment. Cabinet Office periodically publishes reports of all Mystery Shopper cases on its website.
	The Government has written to FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies, which include a number of major construction companies, urging them to sign up to the Prompt Payment Code. The use of retentions, where the customer retains a small percentage of the contract fee over a period as a guarantee against defective work, is not a breach of the Prompt Payment Code.

Prisoners: GCE A-level

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many prisoners sat A levels whilst in prison in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to increase prisoner literacy;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the level of prisoner literacy;
	(4)  how many prisoners sat GCSEs whilst in prison in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: The basic skills of maths and English underpin all learning. They are a critical element of the vocational skills that prisoners need in order to secure employment on release. Evidence shows that employment is linked to reduced re-offending.
	New prison education contracts introduced last summer give a clear focus on addressing maths and English early in prisoners' sentences, with a requirement to assess learning needs and, where a literacy need is identified, to address it. English and maths teaching is delivered both as standalone activity and as an embedded element of work and vocational training. We are working with education providers to help them develop engaging and motivating courses to target resistant learners.
	We are pressing forward with the Apprenticeship agenda in custody, preparing prisoners for opportunities after release and during that period when they can be released on temporary licence to take up employment and other opportunities. Maths and English are a key part of Apprenticeship activity.
	We are developing a new Traineeships policy and will be looking at the potential for this to operate in custody. The content is not yet fixed, but we have proposed that English and maths for young people who have not achieved a GCSE Grade C or equivalent will be a core element.
	We have piloted intensive maths and English courses in prisons, based on the Army's model, particularly to address the needs of prisoners serving short sentences. Guidance will issue shortly.
	The Learning and Skills Improvement Service published in December ‘Developing Speaking and Listening Skills: A support pack for staff working with offenders’ which uses English teaching to develop prisoners' communication skills.
	Data shown in the table on offender learners only includes those funded via the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) budget.
	We do not hold information on the level of prisoner literacy. There were 25,200 offenders aged 18 or over in the prison system participating on a Skills for Life English course in the 2011/12 academic year.
	Table 1 shows the number of offenders aged 18 or over in the prison system participating in A/AS Levels and GCSEs. Final data are shown for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 academic years. Data for previous years are not available on a comparable basis.
	
		
			 Table 1: Offender Learners—Participation (2010/11 to 2011/12) 
			  Final 
			  2010/11 2011/12 
			 GCSE 280 200 
			 A/AS Level 50 30 
			 Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	These data on A/AS Level and GCSE participation represent only a small part of the offender learning provision. In the 2011/12 academic year 90,100 offenders aged 18 or over in the prison system participated in learning funded via the OLASS budget, undertaking learning ranging from basic maths and English provision through to full vocational qualifications at Level 2 and above.

Travel and Subsistence Payments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  how many senior officials in her Department's arm's-length bodies (a) have and (b) have had during 2012-13 terms of employment that specify that their main place of employment is their home address and that they are entitled to claim travel and subsistence expenses for visiting the offices of the arm's-length body;
	(2)  how many chairs in her Department's arm's-length bodies are paid on the basis that they are exempt from personally meeting any tax liability in respect of travel and subsistence payments for attending meetings at the offices of the arm's-length body;
	(3)  how many senior officials of her Department's arm's-length bodies are paid on the basis that they are exempt from personally meeting any tax liability in respect of travel and subsistence payments for attending meetings at the offices of the arm's-length body.

Helen Grant: Since 4 September 2012 responsibility for the Government Equalities Office, formerly within the Home Office, moved to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Responses to these questions by the Minister for Sport and Tourism, my right hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Hugh Robertson), will therefore include the information requested relating to the Government Equalities Office.

Egypt

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on arms smuggling in the Sinai Peninsula.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of reports of arms smuggling in the Sinai. We continue to monitor this closely. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and I have discussed the security situation in the Sinai with the Egyptian authorities. Officials at the British embassy in Cairo and Tel Aviv also discuss this with their Egyptian contacts.

Government Procurement Card

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance or instructions have been issued to staff in (a) his Department and (b) its arm's length bodies about the timing of the publication of data relating to spend over (i) £25,000 and (ii) £500 using the Government Procurement Card.

David Lidington: In line with the Prime Minister's Commitment on Transparency, we are publishing data relating to (i) spend over £25,000 and (ii) Government Procurement Card transactions over £500. Internal departmental instructions have been issued, stating that the data should be published within eight weeks of the end of the month in question.
	The same instructions apply to arms length bodies where they participate in transparency publication.

Driving Under Influence

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people have received (a) one and (b) more than one non-custodial sentence for drink driving in each year since 2000;
	(2)  how many people have been banned from driving (a) once and (b) more than once due to drink driving offences in each year since 2000;
	(3)  how many people have received (a) one fine and (b) more than one fine following drink driving offences in each year since 2000.

Jeremy Wright: The information is as follows:
	PQ 141082
	Table 1 shows the number of offenders given one and more than one non-custodial sentences for a drink driving offence in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, in England and Wales.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of offenders given one and more than one non-custodial sentences for a drink driving offence in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, in England and Wales 
			  Number of offences 
			 As at June each year One More than one 
			 2002 72,896 699 
			 2003 77,524 778 
			 2004 79,436 738 
			 2005 79,855 728 
			 2006 79,929 697 
			 2007 78,087 660 
			 2008 74,299 652 
			 2009 67,463 555 
			 2010 59,943 419 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 53,305 351 
			 2012 51,242 379 
			 Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	PQ 141083
	The MOJ does not hold this information centrally in one data source. While disposal information are recorded on the PNC database, the PNC does not hold the level of details to enable us to provide information on the number of offenders who have been banned from driving due to a drink driving offence. Similarly where court statistics may indicate a ban based on the driving license points/totting up system, it is not possible to gain criminal histories from this database and therefore number of total bans for an individual from this source.
	PQ 141084
	Table 2 shows the number of offenders given one fine or multiple fines for a drink driving offence in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, in England and Wales.
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of offenders given one or multiple lines for a drink driving offence in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, in England and Wales 
			  Number of offences 
			 As at June each year One More than one 
			 2002 58,863 272 
			 2003 61,244 286 
			 2004 62,562 279 
			 2005 61,827 263 
			 2006 61,211 222 
			 2007 59,652 212 
			 2008 56,507 182 
			 2009 52,184 185 
			 2010 47,189 152 
			 2011 42,340 122 
			 2012 40,612 120 
			 Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	The Police National Computer (PNC) came into existence in 2000 and information prior to this is not considered reliable so data before July 2001 is not available. The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, (PNC) which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	The data provided for these responses are based on the primary offence at each separate sentencing occasion. At each sentencing occasion the main disposal outcome has been used (ie where several disposals have been given for the same offence, the more severe outcome has been used).
	Drink driving offences presented in the tables include the following offences:
	Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 4(1) Driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment).
	Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 5(1)(a) Driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit.
	Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 7(6) Driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle and failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen for a laboratory test or two specimens for analysis of breath.
	Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 4(2) In charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment).
	Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 5(1)(b) In charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit.
	Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 7(6) In charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle and failing without reasonable excuse to provide a for a specimen for a laboratory test or two specimens for analysis of breath.
	Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 6(4) Failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen of breath for a preliminary test.
	Failing to allow specimen of blood to be subjected to laboratory test. Road Traffic Act 1998.
	Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment)—drink. Road Traffic Act 1988 S.4(2)
	Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment)—drugs. Road Traffic Act 1988 S.4(1).
	Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit to drive through drink or drugs, (impairment)—drink. Road Traffic Act 1988 S.4(2)
	Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment)—drugs. Road Traffic Act 1988 S.4(2).

Overtime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) average cost per member of staff and (b) total cost was of overtime payments in (i) his Department and (ii) each of its arm's length bodies in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13 to date.

Helen Grant: The information is as follows:
	(a) The average salary cost per member of staff within the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice HQ, National Offender Management Service, HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Office of the Public Guardian) for the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 is set out in the table.
	The average salary costs include salary, allowances, employer pension and National Insurance contributions.
	
		
			 Financial year Average salary costs (£) 
			 2010-11 34,918 
			 2011-12 34,352 
			 1 April 2012 to 31 December 2012 26,159 
		
	
	The average salary cost for 2012-13 covers a nine month period only.
	(b) The total cost of overtime in the Ministry of Justice has been reducing throughout 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 (to 30 September 2012). The amount paid out is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Total cost of overtime (£) 
			 2010-11 66,696,049 
			 2011-12 61,648,324 
			 2012-13 (to 30 September 2012) 29,882,933 
		
	
	The Department's arms lengths bodies have both civil servants and public appointees. They do not all receive payment through the Department's payroll. Therefore I am not able to provide the average salary costs or total cost of overtime in the Ministry's arm’s length bodies.

Prisoner Escapes

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 218W, on prisoner escapes, how many such prisoners are still at large; what estimate he has made of the number of crimes they committed while they were at large; and how long it took to capture each abscondee.

Jeremy Wright: As of 10 January 2013, 19 prisoners of the 679 prisoners who absconded between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2012 remain unlawfully at large. The following table shows the breakdown of how long it took to recapture those who have been returned to custody.
	
		
			 Table: Breakdown of timescale for recapture of those prisoners absconding between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2012 
			 Timeframe for recapture Cumulative number of absconders recaptured Cumulative percentage of absconders recaptured 
			 Same day 86 13 
			 Within 1 day 156 23 
			 Within 1 week 316 47 
			 Within 1 month 479 71 
			 Within 6 months 623 92 
			 Within 1 year 649 96 
		
	
	
		
			 Within 2 ½ years 660 97 
			 Not yet recaptured 19 — 
		
	
	In order to identify if a prisoner had committed any offence whilst unlawfully at large, it would be necessary to examine the incident report and prisoner files for all 679 absconded prisoner. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	Absconds have been falling for nearly two decades. In 2011-12—the last full year when figures were available—there were 179 absconds compared to 956 in 1995-96.

Taxis

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on taxis in 2011-12.

Jeremy Wright: To provide information on departmental expenditure on taxis for civil servants, would involve disproportionate cost.
	The Department's policy on travel by taxi (or use of the Government car service) is that it is not an entitlement and, where possible, journeys should be made by public transport. Taxi fares may be reimbursed only where there is no other suitable form of public transport, or where heavy luggage has to be transported, or where the saving in officials' time is important. Where necessary, a standing arrangement may be made, say, for the conveyance of a large number of files from a court office to a separate court building.

Travel and Subsistence Payments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many senior officials in his Department's arm's-length bodies (a) have and (b) have had during 2012-13 terms of employment that specify that their main place of employment is their home address and that they are entitled to claim travel and subsistence expenses for visiting the offices of the arm's-length body.

Jeremy Wright: According to the information that is centrally available, there were no senior civil servants in the Ministry of Justice's arm's length bodies who, as at 31 December 2012, had their main place of employment as their home address.

Travel and Subsistence Payments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many chairs in his Department's arm's-length bodies are paid on the basis that they are exempt from personally meeting any tax liability in respect of travel and subsistence payments for attending meetings at the offices of the arm's-length body.

Jeremy Wright: 55 chairs; eight of whom chair different national arm's length bodies, the remaining 47 each chair a regional public body.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day by his Department (a) received a substantive answer after the named day and (b) have not received a substantive answer in this Session;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by his Department (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session.

Helen Grant: Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session (25 May 2010 to 1 May 2012) are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf
	The Government is committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written PQ performance on a Sessional basis and will provide full information relating to the 2012-13 Session to the Committee at the end of the current Session.
	The most recent available data from the current Session 9 May 2012 to 18 December 2012 broken down by named day and ordinary written questions can be found in the following table. These figures have been obtained from a central database.
	
		
			 Named day written parliamentary questions 
			  Number 
			 Total number tabled and processed by Department 502 
			 Number answered on time 382 
			 Number answered out of time 114 
			 Currently unanswered 6 
		
	
	
		
			 Commons written parliamentary questions 
			  Number 
			 Total number tabled and processed by Department 1,025 
			 Number answered within 5 sitting days 935 
			 Number answered between 6 and 10 days 25 
			 Number answered later than 10 sitting days 51 
			 Currently unanswered 14

16-19 Bursary Fund

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what bursary schemes have been introduced by his Department in place of the education maintenance allowance;
	(2)  what bursary schemes will replace education maintenance allowance in each (a) school, (b) college and (c) local education authority in England.

David Laws: Education maintenance allowance (EMA) was replaced by the 16-19 Bursary Fund in September 2011. Transitional arrangements meant that 80% of the 17 and 18-year-olds who had received EMA in 2010/11 in the first year of their courses, continued to receive EMA in 2011/12. EMA transitional payments ended in September 2012.
	The 16-19 Bursary Fund is worth £180 million a year and provides:
	1. £1,200 bursaries to the most vulnerable students.
	2. Discretionary bursaries to those young people who most need help with the costs of taking part in post 16 education or training.
	Young people in care, care leavers, young people in receipt of income support, and disabled young people in receipt of both employment support allowance and disability living allowance receive the yearly £1,200 bursaries.
	The majority of the fund however is allocated by the Education Funding Agency to school sixth forms, colleges, academy sixth forms, training providers and local authorities, to award on a discretionary basis to the most financially disadvantaged students—according to locally defined criteria.
	Local authorities are also free to use part of their allocation to support young people who have been placed with independent providers, such as independent special schools, as long as the place is local authority funded.

Pupils: English Language

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for how many pupils in schools in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire English is a second language.

David Laws: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	The latest information on first language has been published as part of the 'Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012' Statistical First Release at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001071/index.shtml
	
		
			 All schools(1): number and percentage of pupils by first language(2,3), January 2012 
			  No of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English % of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English(4) No of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be English % of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be English(4) Unclassified(5) % unclassified(4) Total(3) 
			 England 1,007,095 15.2 5,616,845 84.6 16,235 0.2 6,640,175 
			 Lancashire local authority 14,053 9.6 132,158 90.4 53 0.0 146.265 
			 Pendle constituency 3,161 28.9 7,760 71.0 x x 10,920 
			 x = 1 or 2 pupils, or a percentage based on 1 or 2 pupils. (1) Includes maintained primary schools, primary academies including free schools, maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges, secondary academies including free schools, maintained special schools, non-maintained special schools, special academies and pupil referral units. Excludes general hospital schools. (2) Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. In pupil referral units, also includes pupils who are registered with other providers and further education colleges. (3) Pupils of compulsory school age and above were classified by first language. (4) The number of pupils by their first language expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils of compulsory school age and above. (5) Information was not sought or refused, also includes pupils where classification of first language is pending. Note: England numbers and all totals have been rounded to the nearest 5. There may be discrepancies between totals and the sum of constituent parts. Source: School Census

Schools: Sports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to increase the amount of sport played in schools.

Edward Timpson: Government recognises the importance of PE and sport in education. PE therefore is, and will remain, a statutory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum.
	The Government is currently designing a strategy to maintain the momentum of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and will make an announcement shortly.
	We are also supporting the cross-Government School Games movement and applaud the impact they are having on competitive sport in schools and encouraging more young people to participate in sport. In addition, the Department has supported competitive sport in schools through providing £65 million for a PE Teacher Release scheme. This funding pays for the release of a PE teacher from every secondary school for one day a week to be spent out of the classroom, encouraging take-up of competitive sport in primary schools, as well as their own school, including through participation in the School Games.

Teachers: Training

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that the supply of newly qualified teachers is not affected by imbalances in the distribution of teacher training places at a sub-regional level, following the implementation of his new policies in the Initial Teacher Education sector.

David Laws: For the academic year 2013/14, Initial Teacher Training (ITT) provision is split between core places allocated to ITT providers and School Direct places allocated to schools, who work with a partner ITT provider to deliver teacher training. As School Direct is driven by schools' staffing needs, it should closely mirror local demand for places, and will increasingly do so as the programme expands in future. A guarantee of core ITT places for outstanding ITT providers is in place to maintain training supply. Trainees are not bound to teach where they train and there is reasonable mobility among newly qualified teachers.
	Therefore, allocations of ITT places for AY 2013/14 were not calculated on a sub-regional basis. However, the Teaching Agency does monitor the geographical distribution and take- up of places as part of its responsibility to ensure there are enough high quality teachers. If acute training supply problems occur, the Teaching Agency will adjust allocations as necessary.

Lobbying

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists.

Chloe Smith: The Government is committed to introducing a statutory register of lobbyists: this is a coalition commitment. We are currently taking stock of the evidence provided through the consultation, Introducing a Statutory Register of Lobbyists, and will publish revised proposals in due course.

Referendums: British Nationals Abroad

John Hemming: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on enabling participation in referendums held in the UK by UK citizens living abroad.

Chloe Smith: It is for the relevant Parliament to agree the franchise to be used in a referendum, and to set out how voters are able to exercise their vote.
	For the 2011 referendum on changing the voting system for UK parliamentary elections registered overseas electors were able to vote in person (if they were visiting the UK) or via either a postal or proxy vote.
	British citizens living overseas are eligible to register to vote in the UK, in the area where they most recently lived, up to 15 years after leaving the UK. The Government encourages all eligible citizens to register to vote.

Cancer: Drugs

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will take steps to reduce geographical variations in funds for prescribing cancer drugs funds;
	(2)  what plans he has to introduce standard national guidelines for cancer drug funds;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effects of value-based pricing on regional variations in the availability of drugs for cancer patients.

Norman Lamb: The Department published ‘Guidance to support operation of the Cancer Drugs Fund in 2012-13’ on 23 April 2012. It is for strategic health authority (SHA) regional clinically-led panels to make decisions on the use of this funding. In line with the Government's response to our consultation on the Cancer Drugs Fund, SHA shares of the funding available for the Cancer Drugs Fund have been calculated using the national weighted capitation formula.
	From April 2013, the NHS Commissioning Board will take on oversight of the Cancer Drugs Fund. Guidance to support the operation of the Cancer Drugs Fund in 2013-14 will be a matter for the NHS Commissioning Board.
	The Government is working towards introducing new pricing arrangements for branded medicines, including value-based pricing for new medicines, from January 2014. National health service organisations are legally required to fund treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in its technology appraisal guidance. We have committed to maintaining the funding direction for drugs recommended by NICE and to replicating it for medicines with a value-based price.

Diabetes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to promote greater public awareness of the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and their causes.

Anna Soubry: The Department is working with NHS Choices to ensure their website includes information on the different types of diabetes and the risks associated with developing diabetes. The Department currently has no plans to develop a specific national campaign to raise public awareness of diabetes or the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
	The Department has welcomed the Diabetes UK 4Ts campaign, which aims to raise public awareness of the four most common symptoms of Type 1 diabetes (thirst, tiredness, being thinner, needing the toilet more than usual). Type 1 diabetes can effect anyone at any age and little can be done to prevent it.
	There are a number of programmes raising awareness of the risk factors that are associated with developing Type 2 diabetes. These are being overweight or not doing enough exercise, and apply to every stage of life. In January 2012, the Government launched a new national ambition for a year on year increase in the number of adults doing 150 minutes of exercise per week and a similar reduction in those who are inactive. Adults physically active at recommended levels reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes by up to 50%.
	The National Child Measurement programme is giving parents information they need to make informed decisions about their child's risk of becoming overweight or obese and the consequences.
	Change4life is promoting awareness of healthy living, and in doing so seeks to raise awareness of the risks associated with being overweight or obese, such as developing Type 2 diabetes.
	The NHS Healthcheck programme offers people basic health checks and advice as they reach middle age. It has the potential to prevent over 4,000 people a year from developing Type 2 diabetes and lead to earlier detection and management of at least 20,000 cases of diabetes and kidney disease a year.

Diabetes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the UK have been diagnosed with Type (a) 1 and (b) 2 diabetes.

Anna Soubry: There are approximately 2.6 million people with diabetes in the United Kingdom (4% of the population). Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are the most common types of diabetes, in addition to these there are numerous rarer forms. Type 2 diabetes accounts for around 90% of all cases, which equates to 2,234,000 people; The majority of the remainder have Type 1 diabetes.
	In addition to those with known diabetes, it is estimated that there are 850,000 with undiagnosed diabetes in the UK.

Food: Children

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what total calorie reduction was secured by industry agreements through the Responsibility Deal, in respect of (a) food, (b) drink products and (c) food and drink targeted specifically at children.

Anna Soubry: The Responsibility Deal calorie reduction pledge enables business to contribute to our challenge to the nation, issued as part of the “Call to action on obesity in England” in 2011, to reduce total calorie consumption by 5 billion calories a day.
	In total, 31 companies have made commitments under the pledge and are taking steps such as product and menu reformulation, reviewing portion sizes, education and information initiatives, and actions to shift the marketing mix towards lower calorie options. It is not possible to measure the exact contribution of business' actions to changes in consumers' calorie consumption.
	Details of the commitments made by companies are available at:
	http://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/f4-calorie-reduction/

Maternity Services

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many stand-alone NHS midwife-led birthing centres there are; and what his policy is on the role and location of such units.

Daniel Poulter: Data on the number of free-standing midwifery units are not regularly collected. However, the recent ‘Birthplace in England’ Research Programme of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit reported that in December 2010, the number of free-standing midwifery units in England was 59.
	It is for the local national health service, working with their partners, to plan, develop and implement any proposals for the stand-alone NHS midwife-led birthing centres.
	Front line NHS reconfigurations should be locally-led and clinically-driven. The underlying rationale for any reconfiguration should be that changes deliver a real improvement in quality and outcomes for patients. The guiding principles for NHS reconfigurations are the Secretary of State's four tests which are that schemes should have:
	support from clinical commissioners;
	clarity on the clinical evidence base;
	robust patient and public engagement; and
	support for patient choice.

Overtime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average cost per member of staff and (b) total cost was of overtime payments in (i) his Department and (ii) each of its arm's length bodies in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13 to date.

Daniel Poulter: The information on average staff costs per member of staff and total costs of overtime payments for the Department of Health (DH) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is given in Tables 1 and 2.
	The average costs per member of staff includes basic pay with on-costs such as national insurance contributions and superannuation unless otherwise stated in the tables. It reflects all staff grades on the payroll including the most senior grades.
	The Department's arms length bodies (ALBs) have provided information about the average staff costs per member of staff and total costs of overtime payments. This is given in Tables 3 and 4.
	Data for 2012-13 is as at 31 December 2012 unless otherwise stated.
	
		
			 Table 1: Average cost per member of Staff 
			 £ 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Department of Health(3) (1, 2)58,953 (1, 2)58,568 (1, 2)56,685 
			 MHRA 56,035 59,700 43,811 
			 (1) Average staff costs calculations are produced in October of each year after any pay awards. (2 )These figures include staff salaries, recurring costs, earnings related national insurance contributions (ERNIC) and superannuation. (3)Source: Department of Health Business Management Systems 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Total cost of overtime payments 
			 £ 
			 Year 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Department of Health(2) (1)445,510 (1)409.068 190,676 
			 MHRA 402,556 674,451 491,950 
		
	
	
		
			 (1 )Information as published in the Resource Accounts taking into account manual adjustments recharges and invoices that are outside payroll. (2)Source: DH Payroll Systems Report 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3 
			  Average cost per member of staff (£) 
			 ALBs 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 NHS Commissioning Board(1, 2, 3) n/a n/a n/a 
			 Monitor 85,538 82,278 59,258 
			 NHS Trust Development Authority (NTDA)(4) n/a n/a n/a 
			 Care Quality Commission 47,503 48,449 35,662 
			 NHS Connecting for Health 54,500 62,000 45,000 
			 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 52,196 52,176 54,487 
			 Health and Social Care Information Centre(5) 44,709 44,472 (5)43,852 
			 Health Education England (HEE)(6) n/a n/a (6)74,529 
			 Health Research Authority (HRA)(7, 8) n/a (7, 8)17,658 (8)30,211 
			 NHS Blood and Transplant 36,448 37,291 37,822 
			 NHS Business Services Authority(9, 10) (9)29,222 (9)28,027 (9, 10)28,762 
			 NHS Litigation Authority 49,198 51,203 36,444 
			 Human Fertilisation and Embrology Authority(11) 56,579 54,930 (11)51,353 
			 Human Tissue Authority 52,633 50,947 35,763 
			 NHS Institute(12) (12)27,958 46,114 33,121 
			 Health Protection Agency 49,213 50,755 50,938 
			 National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse(13) 51,836 54,539 (13)54,953 
			 (1) The Commissioning Board became an executive non-departmental public body on 1 October 2012 and will not be effectively operational until 1 April 2013. (2) The Commissioning Board has undertaken a significant programme of staff transition and recruitment, and during this period (October 2012 - January 2013) and most staff have been working on a secondment basis. Therefore it is not possible to give meaningful figures for 2012-13. (3) For 2013-14 the predicted average staff costs (including on costs) is projected to be in the region of £58,000. (4 )NTDA was established in June 2012 and will be fully operational from April 2013. (5) Based on nine months salary actuals and extrapolated for annual equivalent. (6) HEE was established on June 2012 and will be fully operational from April 2013. This figure is based on a payroll of 10 substantive employees at HEE and includes salary, superannuation and ERNIC. Due to the nature of the transition arrangements, this figure represents the level of seniority of appointments made to date. (7 )HRA was established on the 1 December 2011. (8) Average salary costs includes basic pay, NI, pension, bonus, overtime and allowances). (9) The 2012-13 figure is the average cost based on 99 actual expenditure with the equivalent number of staff (i.e. 75%). (10 )Average salary costs includes basic pay, NI, pension, bonus, overtime and allowances. (11 )2012-13 estimated- based on Month eight figure and extrapolated for the full year. (12 )The Institute had a lot of new starters in 2010-11. (13) Data is as at 31 January 2013. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 4 
			  Total cost of overtime payments (£) 
			 ALBs 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 NHS Commissioning Board(1, 2) n/a n/a n/a 
			 Monitor 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 NHS Trust Development Authority (NTDA)(3) n/a n/a n/a 
			 Care Quality Commission 503,699 887,781 445,481 
			 NHS Connecting for Health 32,494 39,617 34,355 
			 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence n/a 397 4,308 
			 Health and Social Care Information Centre(4) (4)n/a 19,967 7,832 
			 Health Education England n/a n/a 0 
			 Health Research Authority (HRA)(5) n/a 0 2,342 
			 NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)(6) 5,350,000 5,250,000 4,135,000 
			 NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA)(7) 597,909 1,069,126 488,957 
			 NHS Litigation Authority 6,626 5,341 4,151 
			 Human Fertilisation and Embrology Authority(8) 20,000 20,000 15,000 
			 Human Tissue Authority 517 296 0 
			 NHS Institute 10,196 16,263 11,848 
			 Health Protection Agency 1,310,500 1,350,700 1,003,800 
			 National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse 0 0 0 
			 (1) The Commissioning Board became an executive non-departmental public body on 1 October 2012 and will not be effectively operational until 1 April 2013. (2) The Commissioning Board has undertaken a significant programme of staff transition and recruitment, and during this period (October 2012 - January 2013) and most staff have been working on a secondment basis. Therefore it is not possible to give meaningful figures for 2012-13. (3) NTDA was established in June 2012 and will be fully operational from April 2013. (4) 2010-11 Information not available within the timescale. Data held in the archives. (5) HRA was established on the 1 December 2011. (6) As a frontline service, NHSBT has a significant number of staff working irregular hours in laboratories and in mobile blood collection teams, and the nature of the work they do means that some overtime costs are inevitable. (7) Overtime payments include NI costs. 2011-12 includes the response to the 'Retrospective Checking Exercise'. (8 )Estimated figures based on deminimus of £20,000 declared in the annual accounts for each year.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his statement of 31 January 2013, Official Report, columns 1072-5, on South London Healthcare NHS Trust, 
	(1)  if he will provide a breakdown of the £36 million of additional investment in maternity services including (a) which financial year the investment is allocated for and (b) at which hospital the investment will be spent;
	(2)  if he will provide a breakdown of the £37 million of additional investment in expanding accident and emergency services for more serious conditions including (a) for which financial year the investment is allocated and (b) in which hospital the investment will be spent.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), confirmed in his oral statement of 31 January 2013, Official Report, columns 1072-75, that the trust special administrator had built into his analysis the provision of £36 million and £37 million of. capital investment for maternity and accident and emergency respectively to increase capacity at Princess Royal University hospital, Queen Elizabeth hospital, Kings College hospital and St Thomas' hospital. These investments would run from 2013-14 to 2015-16. The final decisions on funding for each individual hospital will be worked through as part of the implementation planning process, in collaboration with the Department to ensure value for money for the tax payer.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his statement of 31 January 2013, Official Report, columns 1072-5, on South London Healthcare NHS Trust, what the evidence is for his statement that 100 lives would be saved each year if the reorganisation of Lewisham Hospital were undertaken as proposed by Sir Bruce Keogh.

Anna Soubry: The figure on reduced mortality used in the Trust Special Administrator's report was derived from work undertaken by the London Health Programmes and NHS London, considering excess mortality across the capital at weekends.
	This work drew upon national work. The data and methodology had academic endorsement and was agreed by the London Health Programmes' Quality and Safety Clinical Board and the London Clinical Senate.
	As a result of this work, a set of London Quality Standards have been agreed by the Clinical Senate to improve outcomes for patients admitted at weekends. These include ensuring greater access to consultant staff and diagnostics at weekends, in line with the drive across the national health service to achieve 24/7 working. In order to achieve these standards it will be necessary in some circumstances to further centralise care.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his statement of 31 January 2013, Official Report, columns 1072-5, on South London Healthcare NHS Trust, what factors will determine whether the continuing rate of useage of maternity services at Lewisham is 10 per cent or 60 per cent.

Anna Soubry: Implementing the Trust Special Administrator's recommendations could improve maternity outcomes by concentrating obstetric-led maternity services on fewer sites and enabling greater consultant presence. Mothers whose pregnancies are rated as low risk according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance can give birth in a stand alone midwife, led unit such as the one proposed at University Hospital Lewisham. The rate of usage will be determined by the number of mothers with low risk pregnancies who choose to go to University Hospital Lewisham.

Tobacco: Packaging

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government regarding the proposals for standardised packaging on tobacco products.

Anna Soubry: The recent consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products was conducted on a United Kingdom-wide basis with the agreement of the devolved Administrations across the UK. The Government has an open mind on tobacco packaging and no policy decisions have yet been made.
	The Department received many thousands of responses to the consultation and is now collating and analysing these responses. As set out in the consultation document, all consultation responses will be made available for consideration by the devolved Administrations.
	Any decisions to take further action on tobacco packaging will be taken only after full consideration of the consultation responses, evidence and other relevant information.
	Since the consultation was undertaken, the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not had any discussions with the Scottish Government regarding proposals for standardised packaging of tobacco products. Departmental officials maintain close liaison on tobacco control policy with their Scottish counterparts at official level.

Atos Healthcare

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made an estimate of the costs of providing the processes provided by Atos in-house.

Mark Hoban: Following a procurement exercise that began in 1995, the Medical Service Contract with DWP was originally outsourced from 1 September 1998.
	Subsequently in 2005 there was a re-tendering exercise, however there was no in-house bid.
	There has subsequently been no work or calculations undertaken by the Department regarding the cost of providing the services (currently available through the Medical Services Contract) in house.

Jobcentre Plus

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason his Department no longer publishes statistics on Jobcentre Plus vacancies: and if he will publish such statistics in the future.

Mark Hoban: Headline national level figures on the number of unfilled vacancies at a point in time are published by the Office for National Statistics, based on a regular survey of employers.
	The replacement of the Jobcentre Plus system of vacancy-taking with the new Universal Jobmatch service has meant that the Jobcentre Plus statistics previously published via ONS’ labour market statistics website are no longer available.
	Universal Jobmatch is a major reform that brings significant benefits to jobseekers and employers alike. Headline statistics—which are already available via the Directgov website:
	https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/Reports/Reports.aspx
	show that nationally over 10,000 new vacancies a day are reported to Universal Jobmatch. Despite the limitations, the Department recognises that, in the absence of detailed statistics from the ONS vacancy survey, there remains a demand for local level administrative data on unfilled vacancies. The intention has been and remains that broadly similar information to that available under the previous system will be introduced over time as resources allow.

Social Enterprises

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential of social investment bonds as a source of funding for employment support; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Government recognises the importance of social impact bonds in attracting investment in order to fund solutions to some of the hardest social problems. On 12 May 2011 the Government announced a package of measures to help address youth unemployment. These included a new 'Innovation Fund' of up to £30 million over three years which is being delivered through 10 social impact bonds.

Social Security Benefits

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the new burdens doctrine Guidance for Government departments, issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government in June 2011, if he intends to fund the net additional cost of any new burdens to local authorities arising from the benefits cap; whether his Departmental Finance Director has made an assessment of any potential new burden on local authorities of unintentional homelessness as a result of the benefit cap and quantified the likely costs; if he will publish the details of any such assessment; what steps he is taking to secure the resources needed to fund any net additional cost falling on local authorities from the benefits cap policy; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Department fully supports the new burdens doctrine as set out in the guidance provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Funding of £1.6 million for costs incurred in preparation for administering the cap within the 2012-13 period have been estimated in accordance with the guidance, agreed with DCLG and will be provided to local authorities before the cap takes effect from April 2013.
	Work is continuing to finalise estimates for 2013-14 when the cap will be introduced and further details will be released shortly. We will continue to assess the ongoing impact of welfare reforms on LA administration in line with the New Burdens Doctrine.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many (a) employment and support allowance or incapacity benefit and (b) disability living allowance cases where the initial tribunal has found against the claimant have subsequently been pursued by claimants to higher tribunals; and what the success rate of such further appeals is.

Helen Grant: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	Appeals against decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on an individual's entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA), incapacity benefit (IB) and disability living allowance (DLA) are heard by the First-tier Tribunal —Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. Appeals against decisions of the First-tier Tribunal—SSCS are heard by the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal, subject to permission to appeal being granted by either the First-tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal.
	The following table shows, for ESA, IB and DLA cases, the number of appeals received by the Upper Tribunal and the proportion found in favour of the appellant, dismissed or remitted to the First-tier Tribunal for a fresh hearing between 1 October 2011 and 30 September 2012 (the latest period for which information is available). The appellant can be either the benefit claimant or DWP and it is not possible to break down these figures to show only those appeals by benefit claimants. I have therefore asked DWP for information on the number of appeals it made to the Upper Tribunal during this period and I will write to the hon. Member once this is available.
	
		
			 Upper Tribunal Decisions on ESA, IB and DLA appeals 1 October 2011-30 September 2012 
			    Allowed Dismissed Remitted to First-tier Tribunal 
			  Number of appeals received by the Upper Tribunal 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012 Decisions made by Upper Tribunal Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 ESA 371 325 28 9 37 11 260 80 
			 IB 98 123 11 9 21 17 91 74 
			 DLA 555 457 79 17 45 10 333 73 
			 Note: The number of receipts and decisions made does not tally due to the time lag between appeals being received and appeals being determined.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the distributional effects across households per decile of income through equivalised income for each nation and region of the UK that would arise from the application of the provisions of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill.

Steve Webb: The figures requested are provided in the following tables and relate to impacts in 2015-16, consistent with the Welfare Benefits Up-Rating Bill impact assessment. The analysis takes no account of other changes made at the autumn statement, and shows the effects of the Bill if taken in isolation.
	Figures for decile 10 are not available due to small sample sizes. The figures are presented for Great Britain, consistent with the distributional analysis in the Impact Assessment published alongside the Bill.
	
		
			 Decile 1 
			  Average change for those affected (£ per week) Average change for those affected (% of net income) 
			 North-east -4 -2 
			 North-west and Merseyside -3 -2 
			 Yorks and Humberside -3 -2 
			 East midlands -3 -2 
			 West midlands -3 -2 
			 Eastern -3 -2 
			 London -3 -2 
			 South-east -3 -2 
			 South-west -3 -2 
			 Wales -3 -2 
			 Scotland -3 -2 
		
	
	
		
			 Decile 2 
			  Average change for those affected (£ per week) Average change for those affected (% of net income) 
			 North-east -4 -2 
			 North-west and Merseyside -5 -1 
			 Yorks and Humberside -5 -1 
			 East midlands -4 -1 
			 West midlands -5 -1 
			 Eastern -4 -1 
			 London -4 -1 
			 South-east -4 -1 
			 South-west -4 -2 
			 Wales -4 -1 
			 Scotland -4 -1 
		
	
	
		
			 Decile 3 
			  Average change for those affected (£ per week) Average change for those affected (% of net income) 
			 North-east -4 -1 
			 North-west and Merseyside -5 -1 
			 Yorks and Humberside -5 -1 
			 East midlands -5 -1 
			 West midlands -5 -1 
			 Eastern -5 -1 
			 London -4 -1 
			 South-east -5 -1 
			 South-west -5 -1 
			 Wales -4 -1 
			 Scotland -4 -1 
		
	
	
		
			 Decile 4 
			  Average change for those affected (£ per week) Average change for those affected (% of net income) 
			 North-east -3 -1 
			 North-west and Merseyside -3 -1 
			 Yorks and Humberside -4 -1 
			 East midlands -3 -1 
			 West midlands -4 -1 
			 Eastern -3 -1 
			 London -3 -1 
			 South-east -3 -1 
		
	
	
		
			 South-west -3 -1 
			 Wales -3 -1 
			 Scotland -3 -1 
		
	
	
		
			 Decile 5 
			  Average change for those affected (£ per week) Average change for those affected (% of net income) 
			 North-east -2 -1 
			 North-west and Merseyside -3 -1 
			 Yorks and Humberside -3 -1 
			 East midlands -3 -1 
			 West midlands -3 -1 
			 Eastern -2 -1 
			 London -3 -1 
			 South-east -2 -1 
			 South-west -3 -1 
			 Wales -2 -1 
			 Scotland -3 -1 
		
	
	
		
			 Decile 6 
			  Average change for those affected (£ per week) Average change for those affected (% of net income) 
			 North-east -2 -1 
			 North-west and Merseyside -2 0 
			 Yorks and Humberside -2 0 
			 East midlands -2 -1 
			 West midlands -2 0 
			 Eastern -2 0 
			 London -2 -1 
			 South-east -2 0 
			 South-west -2 0 
			 Wales -2 0 
			 Scotland -2 -1 
		
	
	
		
			 Decile 7 
			  Average change for those affected (£ per week) Average change for those affected (% of net income) 
			 North-east -2 0 
			 North-west and Merseyside -2 0 
			 Yorks and Humberside -1 0 
			 East midlands -2 0 
			 West midlands -2 0 
			 Eastern -2 0 
			 London -2 0 
			 South-east -2 0 
			 South-west -1 0 
			 Wales -1 0 
			 Scotland -2 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Decile 8 
			  Average change for those affected (£ per week) Average change for those affected (% of net income) 
			 North-east -2 0 
			 North-west and Merseyside -1 0 
			 Yorks and Humberside -1 0 
			 East midlands -1 0 
			 West midlands -1 0 
			 Eastern -1 0 
			 London -1 0 
			 South-east -1 0 
			 South-west -1 0 
			 Wales -2 -1 
			 Scotland -1 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Decile 9 
			  Average change for those affected (£ per week) Average change for those affected (% of net income) 
			 North-east -1 0 
			 North-west and Merseyside -1 0 
			 Yorks and Humberside -1 0 
			 East midlands -1 0 
			 West midlands -1 0 
			 Eastern -1 0 
			 London -1 0 
			 South-east -1 0 
			 South-west -1 0 
			 Wales -1 0 
			 Scotland -1 0 
			 Notes: 1. Numbers rounded to the nearest £1 and 1% as appropriate. 2. Figures may not sum due to rounding. Source: DWP Policy Simulation Model (based on FRS 2008/09), 2015/16 prices.

Universal Credit

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people in arrears on their rental payment and who are recipients of housing benefit will automatically continue to have their housing benefit paid directly to landlords following the introduction of universal credit.

Steve Webb: We are not assuming that all people in rent arrears will automatically continue to have their rent paid directly to the landlord following the introduction of universal credit. To do so would risk labelling all individuals in these circumstances as being financially incapable, when they could already have plans in place for clearing these arrears. However, we do accept that for some claimants we will pay their housing costs direct to the landlord, this alternative payment arrangement would be considered on a case by case basis, depending on the claimants circumstances. It would be time-limited and delivered in conjunction with appropriate budgeting support to ensure they make a successful transition over time to monthly budgeting wherever possible.

Universal Credit

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department will be issuing guidance to clarify what safeguards will be put in place for people who are currently in arrears on their rental payments and are recipients of housing benefit at the time when they are switched over to universal credit.

Steve Webb: The move to a single monthly household payment under universal credit will be a significant change from the way many benefits are currently paid and we understand that some claimants will require support to help them manage that change. The Government is working with the advice sector to ensure that claimants are able to access appropriate budgeting support services to enable them to manage their money successfully. We accept that for some claimants an alternative payment arrangement will be required and this could include the payment of their housing costs direct to the landlord. In order to provide greater flexibility, applications will be considered on a case by case basis and assessed on their individual merits depending on the claimants circumstances. Guidance will be developed to help deliver these arrangements, influenced by the learning from the direct payment demonstration projects.

Universal Credit

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been involved in universal credit pilot schemes to date; how participants in the pilot scheme were selected; what steps his Department took to ensure participants in the scheme were representative of people who will be claiming universal credit; how many have fallen into arrears in any form since being moved on to universal credit; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The six areas selected for the Direct Payment Demonstration project volunteered to be part of the project to test direct payment under the current housing benefit regulations and were selected to broadly cover the range of types and circumstances of landlords in Great Britain (GB) meaning they are as representative as you can expect given the limitation that only 2000 tenants from each area are in the project. They cannot represent all social rented sector tenants in GB, although they are broadly comparable with the range of circumstances of tenants in the social rented sector.
	Figures for the total number of tenants who have fallen into arrears in the Direct Payment Demonstration project are not available. However the number of tenants who reached the arrears trigger point (variable across the areas) requiring reinstatement of their housing benefit payment to their landlord was 316 after the first four months of the project. This and further data relating to the project is contained in a media package dated December 2012 (‘Direct Payment Demonstration Project: Payment figures’) a copy of which is available in the Library of the House of Commons.

Welfare State: Reform

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has undertaken a cumulative impact assessment of changes to welfare since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Government regularly produces analysis of the cumulative impact of all coalition changes, including welfare, on households across the income distribution. This information is published at every Budget and other major fiscal events, in the interests of transparency. The most recent update was published with the autumn statement on 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82.
	The publication of cumulative impacts is a coalition initiative and was not produced by the previous Administration.

Work Capability Assessment

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of appeals against work capability assessment decisions were unsuccessful in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 in each region.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the number and proportion of unsuccessful appeals (initial decision upheld) heard on fit for work decisions at the initial work capability assessment by region. The table covers employment and support allowance claims starting in 2010 and 2011. Data for 2011 covers January to November—the latest data available. The statistics are likely to alter over time due to outstanding appeals for ESA claims made in this period. Appeals against incapacity reassessment outcomes are not included.
	
		
			 Unsuccessful appeals heard on fit for work decisions by claim start date and region 
			  Initial decision upheld 
			  2010 2011 
			 Region Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 East midlands 3,520 63 2,170 73 
			 Eastern 3,900 65 1,900 69 
			 London 8,220 57 4,120 62 
			 North-east 5,440 64 4,160 65 
		
	
	
		
			 North-west 10,150 72 6,670 74 
			 Scotland 8,440 61 5,360 63 
			 South-east 4,220 57 2,350 59 
			 South-west 4,090 60 2,320 59 
			 Wales 4,320 63 2,940 64 
			 West midlands 7,300 68 3,990 75 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 5,580 68 3,550 72 
			 Note: Rounding—all volumes are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Department for Work and Pensions benefit administration datasets and HM Courts and Tribunal Service appeals caseload data.

Work Capability Assessment: West Midlands

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of work capability assessments were successfully appealed against in (a) Birmingham, Erdington constituency, (b) Birmingham and (c) the West Midlands in 2011-12.

Mark Hoban: Data on appeal outcomes for 2011-12 is currently available for claims to employment and support allowance made between April 2011 to November 2011, for appeals heard up to October 2012.
	Of all initial claims received within Birmingham local authority in that period 5,940 have completed the WCA process with 3,370 being found fit for work. Of those found fit for work, 540 have an appeal outcome recorded and of these 140 were found in favour of the appellant.
	For the West Midlands region, of all initial claims received in the same period, 24,650 have completed the WCA. process with 14,220 being found fit for work. Of those found fit for work, 2,180 have an appeal outcome recorded and of these 650 were found in favour of the appellant.
	Information on appeals against other decisions is not available; therefore totals are provided instead proportions. Constituency level information on WCA outcomes is not available.
	Source:
	The data presented above comes from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Court Tribunal Service's appeals caseload data.
	Rounding: All volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.